Details

Cautery iron

HC.I.16.2A

Cautery iron with wooden handle, brass fitting, steel shaft and bullet head, dating from around 1700. The head is shaped to cauterise musket or bullet wounds. One of two cauterising instruments (HC.I.16.2). Cautery irons were widely used to stop blood flow and to decontaminate wounds. They were heated up and applied directly to the wound. The introduction of antisepsis meant that they were no longer required, but they were still kept by hospitals and military establishments. This collection has various shaped heads depending upon the procedure required.

Eighteenth century